The deadline to register to vote in the EU referendum is to be extended to the end of Thursday, a Government minister has announced.

The move - which is expected to require emergency legislation - came after thousands of people were prevented from registering by the original deadline of midnight on Tuesday when a Government website crashed.

A statement was being made to MPs by Leader of the Commons Chris Grayling to set out the procedure for implementing the change.

Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock said: "Following discussions with the Electoral Commission and strong cross-party support expressed in the House of Commons, we will introduce secondary legislation to extend the deadline for voter registration until midnight tomorrow.

"Having taken the decision today, we think it is right to extend to midnight tomorrow to allow people who have not yet registered time to get the message that registration is still open and get themselves registered."